A Pascack Valley High School graduate who was barred from his senior prom due to allegations he was drinking alcohol has lost his legal fight to get his principal to reimburse him for his prom ticket, tuxedo, party bus and other expenses.

The student, Erik Tracy of Hillsdale, also asked the Office of Administrative Law to discipline the principal, Thomas DeMaio, over his handling of the 2012 prom incident. According to legal papers, school officials said Tracy was one of about 25 students denied admission to the prom because students on the bus had been drinking.

In a January ruling made public last week, state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf affirmed an administrative law judge's decision to dismiss the case.

The judge found that Tracy waited more than a year to pursue his claim, the commissioner did not have jurisdiction to impose financial penalties, and requests to discipline an administrator should be made to the local school board.

"We've always been serious about the no-drinking policy," said Pascack Valley Superintendent Erik Gundersen. He declined to comment further on grounds the student might appeal the ruling. Tracy, a former lacrosse player, could not be reached for comment.

The year of the disputed prom, students at Pascack Valley won the attorney general's annual contest asking teenagers to create public service announcements for television. The theme was "Proms and Alcohol Don't Mix."